Blockley tyres – where are they made?

[decampos]

I like the look of their radial range and I noticed that they were used on a mega-rare priceless 60s Ferrari featured in Classic Cars magazine a month or so ago.

The chap from vintage tyres mentioned in passing they were made in the Far East. Anyone know for sure? I can't find any mention of it on their website.
Thanks.

[Roy C]

Vintage and Classic Tyres - Where are they made?

[decampos]

Hi Roy C. Thanks for that. I did see that. It was in fact someone from Vintage Tyre that told me they're Far Eastern. I was wondering if anyone could confirm that.

Also, where abouts in the Far East?

[austin]

Why don't you ask them? contact

[a8hex]

It seems that there is a little history between Vintage Tyres and Blockley

http://www.blockleytyre.com/page4.htm

I've been very happy with their cross plies on my XK150.

[lowdrag]

a8hex said:

It seems that there is a little history between Vintage Tyres and Blockley

http://www.blockleytyre.com/page4.htm

I've been very happy with their cross plies on my XK150.

Whoa there! Julian and I have discussed his tyres at length and now MWS are his appointed agents. Not Longstone, not Vintage. It was his choice and I have two cars running on his tyres since I support the underdog. That apart, let me give you my opinion on both radial and crossply based on six years use. The crossplies are noisy - fact. Because of the pre-war tread pattern they hum a lot, but on the other side of the coin I find that they last longer than R5 Dunlops, and are give more feel on the track and also last longer. Two years back, following a discussion with Julian at the Festival, I fitted the 185/15 radials to my E-type, and again they hum a bit up to about 40 mph when the wind noise drowns them out. However, it was the changing from my shagged MWS Michelins to the Blockleys that rests in my mind; it was as if the car had been fitted with power steering and new rubber bushes, so direct and sensitive was the steering. Two years on they haven't done exceptional mileage, perhaps 7,000, but they look as good as new.

Frankly, I don't give a damn where they are made, since "Made in Britain" is a rare enough thing today, but I sure approve of the Blockley range and would recommend them to all and sundry. And no, I have no affiliation; I speak as I find.

[SV8Predator]

Good post, Lowdrag.

[decampos]

Crikey. That was a bit defensive. Where was the provocation for that? Is this what everyone's like around here?

[a8hex]

decampos said:

Crikey. That was a bit defensive. Where was the provocation for that? Is this what everyone's like around here?

I get the impression that all is not sweetness and light in the world of selling tyres to classic car enthusiast.

[RichB]

decampos said:

Crikey. That was a bit defensive. Where was the provocation for that? Is this what everyone's like around here?

Not usually on this section but on Pistonheads general yes, anything for an argument these days!

[lowdrag]

Apologies to all and sundry if that seemed a bit OTT but so many time people criticise on hearsay, not fact. I think Ken actually runs on Blockleys so just take my post for what it is - the findings of a Blockley user. Over the years I've used avons, Dunlops, Michelin and now Blockleys on my E-type and on quality/price I guess the Blockleys - so far - are winning. The Dunlops gave great roadholding and short life, the Michelins extremely long life and the Avons in between. Time will tell, but the crossplies on the XKSS/D-type are already past the mileage I got from R5 (careful, not RS5) Dunlops and have a lot of tread left.

[a8hex]

lowdrag said:

...I think Ken actually runs on Blockleys so just take my post for what it is - the findings of a Blockley user...

Correct, I've been running Blockleys on my XK150 for about 4 years, so far I've been very happy with them.
I've had some very disparaging remarks from another well known classic car supplier who's comments entirely disagree with my experience of them, even though other advise he's given me in the past was very good.

[a8hex]

I drove my XK150 on some Blockley radials last night, that's certainly different to the crossplies. Feels more like driving a modern.

[decampos]

Blockley tyres had a stand at the NEC so I was able to inspect their tyres up close. To answer my own question: they're made in Indonesia. Doesn't bother me, I was just curious. The chap there confirmed that they are indeed planning on introducing a 14 inch radial tyre by mid 2014 (and a 13 inch among others). That'll be the time that my Merc R107 will be due for some new shoes and I will almost certainly be buying Blockleys as they really do look absolutely terrific and perfect for an old car.

[jith]

decampos said:

Blockley tyres had a stand at the NEC so I was able to inspect their tyres up close. To answer my own question: they're made in Indonesia. Doesn't bother me, I was just curious. The chap there confirmed that they are indeed planning on introducing a 14 inch radial tyre by mid 2014 (and a 13 inch among others). That'll be the time that my Merc R107 will be due for some new shoes and I will almost certainly be buying Blockleys as they really do look absolutely terrific and perfect for an old car.

I know some of you are not going to like this, but I have a Jensen Healey in at the moment for re-commissioning. It's been in a garage for a long time but is actually quite nice. It's sitting on a set of at least 25 year old Goodyear G800 radials. Anyone remember them? They look almost identical to these Blockleys.

From indelible memory of many scares in the 70s and 80s; the Michelins available in that era were positively lethal in the wet, as were Avon Turbospeeds. The compound was far too hard, one reason they ran to huge mileages with little wear. The best tyre ever introduced in that era in terms of grip, silent running and road safety was the Dunlop SP Sport, developed by Jaguar and Dunlop specifically for the XJ saloons.

I remember driving the first one that cam to Paisley and it was literally unbelievable in the wet compared to what else was available at the time. Remember this was 1969 and cars just did not handle like this then!!

The tyre was so successful Dunlop made it in most sizes. It is still available and beats everything else hands down, including Blockleys. I am in a position to drive many different classics on many different tyres and my conclusion is drawn simply from experience and nothing else.

J

[lowdrag]

I'll not gainsay the SP Sport except in one area - longevity, which was downright poor, and at the price of tyres these days that is important to me. On the E-type I've used these, XWS (?) Michelins, Avons, and now Blockleys. Whatever the visual resemblance to the Goodyear, I can assure you that they do hold on well in the wet, made the steering much lighter than the Michelins, are comfortable and absorb crashes and bangs, but as to longevity I cannot as yet say, having done but 4,000 on them. As said before, the only downside I can find is the road noise which disappears in the wind above 40mph. As a trade-off for the price paid, I can't fault them.

[andyps]

To bring an old thread back to life I'm looking for tyres for my Lancia Fulvia and saw the Blockley tyres - a search for information about them led me to here. What are thoughts on them now a few years later?

[a8hex]

I ran Blockley's on my XK150 until I sold her last year.
To start with I had the crossplies and they behaved better than the Avon's I'd used previously. The only problem was when I drove them on a slightly damp track when they had less than a 100 miles on them, then they were horrid! But after a few laps they scrubbed off that newness and worked fine.
As Lowdrag says above (I've posted here about it in the past as well) the crossplies are noisy. The blocks on the treads are in a regular pattern and all the blocks across the tyre are aligned, so they all hit the road surface together and they all come off together. As a consequence they sing to you at a frequency related to the speed you are going at. It never bothered me, I felt it to be part of the character of the car. Whether I'd have felt the same in an open top car I don't know.
When I first thought about selling the car I was recommend to switch to radials as most drivers would fine them easier. Crossplies will hunt around. On the radial version the car felt much more modern. Easy to drive, I was quite happy with the grip on the road and on the track. A racing driver who took me for a spin in the car reckoned that the ultimate straight line grip under braking wasn't quite as good as another make (I think it might have been Vredestein as these were the tyres used in the XK racing series), but otherwise seemed happy with their performance.
I'd happily fit Blockley's on another classic when I get around to getting one.

[andyps]

Thanks for the reply, sounds like they could be worth getting. Were they OK in wet conditions? I guess ultimately there will be times I will be using the car in whatever the weather decides to do so making sure it is OK in bad conditions is quite important.

[lowdrag]

I mentioned above that they are good in the wet. Far better than the Michelins in fact om the E-type. I took the XKSS out in the wet on Sunday and not the slightest bother - and they are crossplies.